Some disposable sheet dispensers have been designed where the dispensing opening is a narrow slot or a slit. Such openings are well-suited to presenting tissue sheets for sequential removal. In some applications, however, it is sometimes difficult to remove the initial sheet from the stack when a narrow opening is present. For instance, the narrow opening can interfere with the ability of the user to grab the leading edge of the first sheet if the leading edge is located in a position that is not adjacent to the opening. Additionally the second sheet in the stack may be selected prior to the first sheet if its leading edge is in the vicinity of the opening resulting in a double sheet pull.
Another factor that is important in sheet dispensing is the height of the sheet that has been dispensed relative to the top surface of the package. Some sheet fold and interfold configurations present an exposed sheet that has an exposed sheet height which is too short which may result in sheet fallback into the package, increase the possibility of sheet tearing, or be too short to properly grasp it for proper dispensing. Alternately some sheet fold and interfold configurations present an exposed sheet that has an exposed sheet height which is too tall which may result in streaming or double pulls or too much of the sheet exposed to the elements. Streaming occurs when the user pulls the top sheet out, and the subsequent sheet or sheets are also withdrawn without the separation of the following sheet or sheets. In addition the appearance of the height of the exposed portion of the pulled sheet is preferred by consumers if it is in the range where it is not too short or too tall.
Another issue related to sheet folding and interfold configuration is package fill. For economy it is desirable for the stack of sheets to have the same thickness across the lateral width of the stack. That is, if there are one or more regions across the lateral direction of the stack that have fewer sheets it will result in concave unfilled regions which require additional packaging materials to enclose the stack. In addition the region with fewer sheets is less stiff, less stable and more likely to deform during use resulting in a package that may become misshapen. In an alternate configuration if there are one or more regions across the lateral direction of the stack that have more sheets it will result in convex overfilled regions which also require additional packaging materials to enclose the stack. The convex overfilled regions will also result in an unacceptable package presentation.